70% of Union members have guaranteed defined benefit Pensions (the real retirement vehicle!)

73% of union members have health care benefits (only 51% of non-union workers receive benefits & those benefits are generally more costly and do not have the coverage a Union plan will have)

Your Right to Organize

You have a right to join a union and organize your workplace. No matter what your employer does to stop you, you can do it.

What You Can Do

Under Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), you have the legal right to:

Attend meetings to discuss joining a union.

Read, distribute and discuss union literature (as long as you do this in non-work areas during non-work times, such as breaks or lunch hours).

Wear union buttons, t-shirts, stickers, hats or other items on the job.

Sign a card asking your employer to recognize and bargain with the union.

Sign petitions or file grievances related to wages, hours, working conditions and other job issues.

Ask other employees to support the union, to sign union cards or petitions, or to file grievances.

You have a right to join a union. But odds are you'll have to fight for this right. Most employers try to talk workers out of organizing. Why? Because employers know that with a union, workers gain the power to make their voices heard. And employers must listen.

That's exactly what having a union is all about: having dignity and respect on the job, and having the power to stand up for ourselves, our families and our future. Possessing a strong, collective voice helps gain fair and safe working conditions, wages and benefits while ensuring a better future for families.

The only way to gain real, positive changes in the workplace is to get it in writing—in a legally binding Teamsters union contract. It makes sense. When we stand alone, we are powerless. Employers hold all the cards and they call all the shots. By standing together, workers gain a seat at the table and the ability to demand a fair deal.

Teamsters Local 89 has a membership of 15,000 men and women as we continue to grow. We are affiliated with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT), which boasts a membership of more than 1.2 million members. We know that talk is cheap and FALSE company "promises" can't protect your families. We understand that the only way working people can truly protect their jobs and their families is by standing together and negotiating a legally binding contract.

Have you had enough of broken promises? Tired of lousy pay? Strained through lousy working conditions? Do you want a little respect on the job and security for your family? Then it is time to organize. Contact Teamsters Local 89's Organizing Department for more information (502) 368-5885.

How Organizing Works

You have a federally protected right and employers will challenge you. But the rewards outweigh the struggle. This is how a union organizing campaign works.

Your Right to Organize

Interested in organizing in your workplace? A union is simply a majority of employees who join together to better their work lives. Under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) you have the legal right to form a union in your workplace.

The NLRA states:

Section 7: "Employees shall have the right to self-organization, to form, join, or assist labor organizations, to bargain collectively through representation of their own choosing, and to engage in other concerted activities for the purpose of collective bargaining . . . ."

Section 8(a): "It shall be an unfair labor practice for an employer . . . to interfere with, restrain, or coerce employees in the exercise of the rights guaranteed in section 7. . . ."

Getting Started

To get a union started, the first thing you need to do is talk to your coworkers. Do they share the same concerns you have? Or, do they have other issues? Is there a common theme to these concerns such as lack of respect and dignity; lack of a voice in the workplace; unfair treatment; and/or wages and benefits lower than other people working in the same industry?

Contact Us

If you're interested in organizing your workplace, call us at (502) 368-5885 (all calls are confidential). An organizer will contact you. He or she can set up a meeting with you and some of your coworkers to discuss the possibility of a union in your workplace.

Strength in Numbers

Joining the Teamsters allows you to have a voice in how you are treated at work. As a Teamster member, you are part of 1.2 million working men and women and their families fighting to improve working conditions at your workplace and around the nation. The Teamsters are a family, along with 400,000 Teamster retirees in the United States and Canada. You will always have the support and strength of your union sisters and brothers. Your union is a democratic organization, where the members have the right to elect their leaders, and decide the union's policies.

Strong Teamster Contracts

Contracts cover such rights and benefits as...

Pay levels and pay raises

Health coverage

Job security

Promotions

Paid time off for vacations and holidays

Retirement benefits

Rules about how you must be treated on the job

Your contract is negotiated with management by your co-workers and Teamster leaders. Every member has the right to make suggestions about what should be in the contract and to vote on the final agreement.

To win a good contract, workers have to show management that they are united in support of their negotiating team. Sometimes workers have to get support from other unions, community groups, public officials, consumers, or other organizations to convince management to reach a reasonable agreement.

The rights and benefits in the contract are guaranteed. Management cannot legally change them without negotiations with the union.